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Saturday, April 24, 2004

Just the Week's Tidbits

I've put up mostly short posts lately and have been meaning to write some longer ones. I've got several topics I want to cover; I might even have a rant brewing. But I've got a ton of stuff to do today, including finally building my poker table, so I'm just gonna recap some stuff from the past couple days.

I played the $10 multi-table because of a coupon Absolute sent me -- they reimbursed the $10 buy-in. Also for finishing in the top 9 at a multi-table event I qualified to play in Absolute's weekly $1000 freeroll Sunday night at 6pm. Should be fun.

I guess I'll go ahead and reveal my Absolute screen name in case I run into anybody at Absolute who's read this. It's LanceyH (a nod to Lancey Howard, "The Man" that Steve McQueen can't beat in the movie The Cincinnati Kid.)

So I'm up $75 in tourneys since I started this blog on April 1.

But Where Did My Ring Game Go?

Unfortunately, my ring game has gotten worse as my tourney skills have improved. I lost $50 at Paradise as reported in a previous post. Then Wednesday night I lost $50 of the $70 bonus dollars I had received from Party Poker. This really bugged me because last summer I was beating the Party .50/$1 and $1/$2 games on a regular basis. Some mistakes I made Wednesday night:

1) I played two tables at once. I know many players recommend this but I have yet to post a winning session while playing 2 tables. I really thought I would this time. I played for about 3 hours, and for the first two hours I was basically treading water. Then it all went downhill.2) I played for 3 hours, which is about 1 hour too long.3) I bet top pair way too often and it hardly ever held up against all the callers on Party. Looking back, I think I was disciplined enough last summer that I usually laid down top pair, instead waiting for sets and flush draws. Wish I had remembered that Wednesday. 4) All the bluffing and aggressiveness I do in tourneys may be carrying over into ring games. I know the 2 types of games are very different and try to use the appropriate strategy for each, but it does seem that when I'm doing well at tourneys I do poorly at ring games, and vice versa. Something to work on.

I also blew $10 at a .25 blind no limit game on Absolute, but I had 6 Pacificos in me and was more or less screwing around, so although I know it was dumb that loss doesn't sting as much.

Anyway, so I was down to $20 on Party, then I got that back up to $33 via tourneys, but then B took a crack at the Party ring games with my money Thursday night, and it didn't go well. However . . .

B Used the Hammer!

B has started reading many of the poker blogs out there and she thinks the whole "Hammer!" thing is just hilarious. So when she got 72o on the big blind and flopped two pair, she could think of nothing but Grubby's Hammer challenge and sure enough she yelled "Hammer time!" into the chat box as she took down the pot. Upon further review B did not meet Grubby's challenge requirements, as she was at a .50/$1 table and got the hammer on the big blind. But she had fun!

B Finished In-Da-Money for the First Time

B had taken at a shot at the Party tables with money because her ring game is pretty solid (and she's had bad experiences with customer service on Party so doesn't want to buy in again on her own account). But tournament strategy had eluded her in the past, so a few times now she's watched me at the $5 SnGs, and a couple times I've coached her as she played the $2 SnGs on Absolute. But last night was the first time she really got in the zone, and she finished 3rd at a $5 SnG.

She might've finished higher, too. When there were still 5 people left, she had pocket 10s when the flop came 994 and someone bet into her. I thought she should fold but she saw the turn and it was another 4. Another bet, and she laid down the 10s. She would've won. Then when it was down to 3 she flopped two pair and went all-in (again on my advice), only to find out she was up against a set. I stand behind both of my calls, but I also told B she should just follow her instincts in those situations. I also told her, "Grasshopper, you have learned all that I have to teach," so from now on I won't be sitting behind her offering advice. I wish she had gotten to play more hands when it was 3-player and high blinds, though. It took me a while to get a feel for how to survive in that situation and finish better than 3rd.

Party Tourney Chat

I'm going to avoid the Party SnGs, mostly because I'm now broke on that site but also because I don't like the quick blind structure. The players are pretty wild compared to Absolute, but I guess a lot of that is justified given the blind structure. There was a little bit of chat in one of the tourneys I was in that sums up the style of play on Party:

On level 2 or so I have AQs and raise minimum preflop. Flop comes with a rainbow and a King, and a player before me bets more than the minimum, so I fold. Then another player says "Wow, you would raise and then fold on the flop." I don't know if he was being wry and commenting on how rare a play that is on Party, or if he was genuinely surprised to see it happen.

Building My Poker Table: Fun with a Sabre Saw

Yesterday I accomplished what I hope will be the hardest part of my poker table project, which was to cut my 4x8 piece of plywood into a 4x6 oval, using a power saw I borrowed from a friend (I am not much of a woodworker). Today I'm off to the fabric store to get some vinyl to cover the rubber-hosing-padded-rail I bought, then it's on to Home Depot to get spray glue and a few other items.

Al Can't Hang

Just a couple gems from Al Can't Hang's blog, which I added to the links at the right. He's a Philly boy and has excellent insight into the drunk poker player's mind!:

I found a sure fire way to kick that ugly feeling after a fine night of drinking. Win a lot of money.

Don't read Super System after drinking. Apparently it turns a tight/aggressive player (which was my game plan from the start) into a booze-injected crazy raise machine.